Of Significance
by cszimm
Summary: Even the smallest events, the shortest conversations, can be significant in the course of a relationship. A look at the events that brought Kakashi and Sakura together after the Fourth Shinobi War.


A/N: This story will be canon through chapter 699, with inspiration pulled from everything that we know happens after that. My goal for approximately the first half of this story is to fill in the gaps of the end of the _Shippuden_ manga and subsequent events; there will be a major divergence from canon in the second half. That being said, **this _will_ be a KakaSaku fic. ** Don't get too upset (or excited, depending on how you feel about it), about the SasuSaku action in the first half. As always, thank you for reading and letting me share with you. Your feedback and support is much appreciated!

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Chapter 1: The End

She came back to consciousness slowly, as if waking from a dream she could almost remember, but her memory of it was slipping away with every passing second. Her head hurt; squinting against the brightness she tried to turn her head away, and brought a heavy hand to her face. At first all she saw was white—the blankness of the sky of the other dimension in which she had fought Kaguya. In which she was stuck. It occurred to her that there was something else there, a fluffy white shape. Not quite a cloud; it was too…stringy? It looked like—

"Kakashi-sensei!" she gasped. Sakura tried to sit up quickly but her head ached acutely behind her eyes, and she felt Kakashi's large hand on her shoulder keeping her down.

"Are you alright, Sakura?"

His voice was serious, his concern evident but laced with a bitter undertone.

"I'm fine, Kakashi-sensei, just disoriented. And my head hurts."

"Maybe you should stay laying down…"

"I said I'm fine. It's not that kind of headache," she replied tersely as she sat up anyway. "What the hell happened?"

"Sasuke used a genjutsu to knock you out, and a pretty violent one, too. You've been out for about twenty minutes."

"Where are they now?"

She was met with silence. Kakashi avoided her eyes; his own eyes were dark and angry. Sakura rose to her feet and looked around the desolate landscape before crossing the few paces to where he sat on the ground, legs bent and elbows resting on his knees.

"Kakashi-sensei… _where are Naruto and Sasuke?"_

He hesitated for just a few more seconds. She didn't know why he bothered; she would find out one way or another.

"They went off to fight."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock.

" _What?_ We have to go stop them—they're going to kill each other!"

It wasn't until she felt Kakashi's hand snap to her wrist that she realized either of them had even moved—she to follow Naruto and Sasuke, and he to stop her.

"No, Sakura. Their competition to best each other has reached its inevitable conclusion. We have to let them fight it out or they won't ever stop."

She couldn't believe what he was saying. He was just going to…let them go? If she didn't go stop them, they really would end up killing each other, she was sure of it.

"So that's it then? You're just giving up on them? You're just going to let them kill each other?"

Her voice was incredulous, and she expected Kakashi to explain his inaction. He always had a reason for everything he did.

Instead she was met with indifferent silence.

The ache behind her eyes disappeared, and it was quickly replaced with a simmering rage.

Sasuke had left her, broken her heart, tried to kill her, and yet she had never given up on him. Naruto had nearly lost his life trying to bring Sasuke back, trying to save them all, and never gave up on Sasuke. And Sakura never lost faith in Naruto. And now Kakashi _dared_ to give up on them?

"You idiot!"

Her other hand cocked back to crack him with an open palm across the cheek, but he caught that one, too.

"Kakashi-sensei!" She cried as she struggled against his hold. Of course she could easily break it with chakra, but that wasn't necessary. Yet.

"Don't call me that."

Wait, what? What the hell was he talking about?

"What do you mean don't call you that?" she ground out through clenched teeth. Her patience was draining quickly away.

"Don't call me sensei. I don't deserve the title anymore. You said it yourself—they're going to kill each other and there's nothing we can do to stop it. I promised to protect you all, and I failed."

This time she employed her chakra, and ripped both wrists free of his grasp before fisting one hand in his vest and hauling him to his feet. The shocked expression on his face at being handled so roughly by _dainty little Sakura_ was quite satisfying, though not enough to quell her anger.

"That doesn't have anything to do with anything! I'm so _fucking_ tired of dealing with you dense idiots!"

Disgusted, Sakura released Kakashi's vest and stalked away a few feet to pace. And yell. She needed to yell to keep from hitting him with a chakra-enhanced fist.

"All these years I've been following all of you, trusting that you all knew best, because you all had so much more life experience than me! You'd all been through tragedy and I've just been taking a backseat to Team Orphan because I didn't have my own tragic past! Because I wasn't _broken_ enough to warrant the same attention! And because of that I've always been seen as the weakest link!"

She saw Kakashi visibly grimace at her comments, but he let her tirade continue.

 _Good,_ she thought. _About time I get to say how I really feel._

"Well I'm not putting up with you anymore! I'm just as strong as all of you, and this time you're wrong, Kakashi-sensei! This isn't over and I'm not letting you tell me there's nothing we can do. We are not going to give up on Naruto or Sasuke!"

Sakura ran out of things to yell just then, so she just paced, breathing heavily. Small cracks appeared in the hard-packed dirt beneath her feet.

"You're not weak."

That stopped her in her tracks, and Sakura wheeled around to glare at Kakashi.

"You're not weak anymore," he continued, "You just fought Kaguya, the mother of chakra. You showed everyone that you've mastered Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred Seal jutsu. You saved us all, Sakura."

"Then why are you still treating me like I'm a Genin fresh out of the Academy!"

She stomped her foot in what she knew was a childish gesture contradictory to the point she was trying to make, but she figured the way her foot left a small crater in the ground made up for it.

Kakashi sighed, and with that Sakura knew she was going to win this argument.

"Alright. I'm sorry you feel that you've been treated unfairly—"

"Tch! That's an understatement!" She bit out under her breath. Kakashi leveled a glare at her, but Sakura stood her ground, arms now crossed over her chest defensively. But it seemed Kakashi was trying to be patient with her and make her happy.

"What can I do to make it up to you?"

She thought for just a few seconds before replying.

"I want a spar. When we get back to Konoha. You and me. Full strength."

Kakashi nodded once in agreement.

"Okay. Anything else?"

"You help me train so that I can become a Jonin."

"It would be my pleasure, Sakura."

His voice was sincere, and she was almost ready to let the argument go; her anger had abated again at his acquiescence. But for good measure she continued to give him a hard look. If he was smart enough he would know…

"And I'm sorry, Sakura. You deserved to be treated better as a my student."

 _Bingo_. She gave a smile as the last dregs of her negativity evaporated.

"It's alright, Kakashi-sensei. I wasn't always an easy one to teach when I was younger either."

In response Sakura received a happy eye crinkle, but now that her outburst was over she came back to focus on the situation at hand.

"Which way did they go?" she asked, once again serious.

No longer acting melancholy, but with the resolve Sakura had come to expect, Kakashi pointed her in the right direction.

"Let's go. And if they aren't dead I'm going to pummel them myself."

As she stomped in the direction Kakashi had pointed, Sakura missed the chuckle and glint of pride in his eyes.

* * *

The next twenty-four hours were a test of patience and skill under pressure for all four of the original members of Team Seven. Kakashi and Naruto suddenly found themselves thrust into the spotlight, being hailed as war heroes by people from all of the Five Nations, though none more so than their own people of Konoha. It was attention that neither basked in, although Naruto seemed to enjoy it more than Kakashi. The Copy Ninja had already had his fill of such treatment long before this war had even started, and so he slinked away to enjoy a few quiet moments to himself whenever he could.

He had been working closely with Tsunade and the other Kage to restore order to the now quiet but grisly battlefields, and relished the few moments he found to rest by himself away from the demand for his attention. It was during one of these few interludes that Naruto had also wandered his way, and now the two leaned side-by-side against a jut of rock.

As the two enjoyed a comfortable silence, a flash of pink hair caught Kakashi's attention out of the corner of his eye. Sakura was making her way towards Sasuke, who Kakashi had been subtly monitoring all day. Kakashi tensed, and was not surprised that Naruto noticed and placed his remaining hand on Kakashi's arm.

"It's okay," Naruto said, "He won't hurt her."

Kakashi didn't look away from Sakura's retreating figure, and didn't respond to Naruto. Instead, the blonde continued to fill the silence.

"Sasuke and I came to an understanding. In that moment just before our attacks hit yesterday, our eyes met, Kakashi-sensei. It's hard to explain, but I just know, in my gut, that we were feeling the same way. We finally realized that neither of us will ever truly win over the other…we're as close as brothers. Family. Sometimes families fight, and hurt each other, but if they are strong enough they overcome it. Sasuke and I, and you and Sakura, too…we're family. And we're strong."

Kakashi thought over these profound words for a few moments, as he watched Sasuke and Sakura converse closely. They were far enough away that he couldn't read their lips, but both appeared relaxed. He supposed that what Naruto said was true. They had fought others, fought themselves, and nearly died together and at each other's hands. And now they were taking the first steps towards healing. Together they could overcome these things, help pull each other from the depths of their mistakes, and what else could that make them but family? Few bonds could be closer than that.

Finally letting go of his need to watch Sakura's back for her, Kakashi turned back to Naruto.

"I'm not sure when exactly you became so wise, Naruto, but I'm glad for it. Sometimes I forget that I can learn a thing or two from my own students. You've surpassed me, after all," he admitted with an eye-crinkle.

Naruto chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, I don't know when that happened, either."

* * *

Sakura could sense Kakashi's watchful eye on her as she made her way over to where Sasuke was seated away from the fray. After her outburst yesterday she was slightly peeved that he didn't trust her to take care of herself. Not that there was even any danger—she was just going to talk to Sasuke, in plain sight of everyone. She was sure that even if they were alone, Sasuke no longer had any desire to harm her.

"Hey," she said with a smile as she sat down on his right side, so as not to jostle the injury to his left arm. She had brought along a bottle of water as a peace offering, and she was pleased when he took it gratefully and gave her a nod of thanks.

It wasn't until a few moments of silence passed between them that Sakura realized this was the first time they had spoken alone in… _years_. She was glad that she was already there, otherwise her courage may have left her had the realization hit her sooner.

"How's your arm?" she asked as a way to break the ice.

"It's the same," Sasuke replied in an even tone. Sakura didn't miss the wince on Sasuke's face as he habitually shrugged while speaking, and reacted to the pain in his left arm and shoulder.

Although she had done everything she could to heal the damaged tissue, she couldn't re-grow bones. Losing a limb was incredibly hard on the body, and the remainder of his arm would ache with pain for weeks, maybe months to come. But Sasuke had refused the pain medication that Sakura and Tsunade had encouraged him to take.

"Tsunade was telling me that she has a theory about how to make a prosthetic for you, from remaining samples of Hashirama's cells. When we all get back to Konoha she'll be able to do some more research, but it will take some time."

Sasuke nodded again but was quiet for a few moments before speaking.

"I'm not sure I can go back to Konoha, Sakura."

She was stunned, to be sure, but they had come too far for her not to argue with the stubborn man in front of her.

"And why not, Sasuke?" she said with an edge to her voice. She was proud of herself for not crying; instead she felt stubborn resolve. "Me and Naruto…we've fought so hard to bring you home. Don't you want to come home, Sasuke?"

The man next to her gave a dark chuckle.

"I'm not sure that I'm allowed to consider Konoha my home anymore, not after everything I've done. I'm not just a missing nin anymore, Sakura. I attacked a family member of the Raikage in order to aid the Akatsuki. I attacked the Five Kage Summit and killed the man who was the acting Hokage in Tsunade's absence. This isn't about me running away from the village. I'm a criminal, Sakura."

Sakura's fiery temper died a little; it was difficult to stay positive when all of Sasuke's sins were laid out so bluntly in front of them.

"Sasuke…you're family to me, and to Naruto. We won't let you just walk away from us again; we love you."

Sasuke seemed to consider this for a few minutes, and Sakura supposed that although they had proclaimed it to him several times recently, the idea of love must seem strange to him after so many years of being consumed by hatred. With that thought in mind, she bit back the tirade she wanted to unleash on him similar to the one she had given Kakashi yesterday, and settled on being patient while Sasuke mulled over her statement.

"I'm not sure…" he began slowly, "I'm not sure if I know how to love, Sakura. But, I suppose, that if I could love anyone, it would be you, after everything we've been through."

Sakura's heart swelled. She didn't know if Sasuke was speaking about her individually, or if he meant "you" in the collective sense in reference to both her and Naruto. But she quickly decided it didn't matter, as long as he came home to them.

"I believe in you, Sasuke." After a few beats, she added, "There is already talk of Kakashi becoming the next Hokage. Tsunade might not step down quite yet, but Kakashi will understand, you know. You can have a life with us in Konoha again, I'm sure of it."

"I wonder about that. Kakashi's been glaring daggers at me all day; he and Tsunade insisted I wear a chakra-binding cuff on my right arm. Like I could even form hand signs right now, tch," Sasuke scoffed at himself. "I think the only reason I'm not completely bound and gagged is that everyone is afraid Naruto will rip off _their_ arms if they come near me."

"Maybe that's true, but Kakashi's also protecting you. He had a pretty heated argument with Darui of the Cloud village to keep you in Konoha's custody, and not hand you over to Kumo."

Sasuke just shrugged again, and again grunted with the pain.

"Still going to be in prison when we get there, though."

"I wish you would let me give you some medicine for that," Sakura said quietly, choosing to redirect the conversation.

"I did this to myself," Sasuke replied resolutely. "You should save the painkillers for the others who need it more than me."

The change in Sasuke had never been clearer before that moment. Gone was the selfish, angry boy she had foolishly fallen in love with years ago. Next to her now sat a man who had been humbled through the horrors of war. She still sensed bitterness in him, but it no longer stemmed from anger at others. Sakura guessed that the man before her now was bitter only because he was angry at himself, for his own choices that had brought him to that moment, feeling untrusted and undeserving.

Sasuke finished the last of the water Sakura had brought to him and spoke again.

"I never wanted to serve the Akatsuki; I only wanted to avenge the deaths of my clan and at the time I felt that was the only way. But it turns out my treason was for nothing. I turned my anger towards Konoha, but that was an even bigger mistake. I know I have to atone for my crimes. I intend to cooperate fully with Konoha and accept my punishment. If they let me live, I'll remain in the village for at least a little while, but I can't promise that it will be permanent. If I leave again it will be with the blessing of the Hokage. Or at the _order_ of the Hokage; I may not be _allowed_ to stay."

Ice filled Sakura's veins at the idea that Sasuke may be punished with banishment, or worse, execution. She supposed that deep down she always knew those were possibilities, but had never let herself consider them. And she was troubled by the idea that even if Sasuke came home, he may not stay, but at least now she had _time_. Time to figure out where they fit into each other's lives again, time to make him remember that Konoha was where he belonged, time to convince Tsunade and Kakashi that he deserved to live in the village again.

There was no doubt it would be hard at first; it would be a long time before people would place even a minute amount of trust in Sasuke. But to Sakura, he seemed genuinely ready to move on from his hatred. If he were just allowed to _live_ , she was sure that they would overcome the hardship together. As Sakura convinced herself to be content with this result for now, she tentatively put one arm around Sasuke's waist, and she was pleasantly surprised to find his arm around her shoulder in response.

"Thank you Sakura, for everything."

It was not lost on her that he chose to use the same words he had spoken to her upon leaving Konoha when they were thirteen. But now, they signified the beginning of a new chapter of their lives instead of the end.

* * *

TBC


End file.
